“I like it okay.” To prove it, Seth blew an enormous purple bubble.

“Yeah, but I’m telling you that it sucks and that the people who make it are creeps. You’re not going to just toss it in the trash because I say so, right?”

“Damn straight.”

“But if I gave you a new choice, if I told you about this Super Bubble Blow—”

“Super Bubble Blow? Man, you slay me.”

“Shut up. SBB, it’s better. It lasts longer, costs less. Chewing it’ll make you and your friends, your family, your neighbors happier, stronger. SBB is the gum of the future, of your future. SBB is right!” Phillip added, putting a ring in his voice. “Bubblicious is wrong. With SBB you’ll find personal and religious freedom, and no one will ever tell you that you can only have one piece.”

“Cool.” Phillip was weird all right, Seth thought with a grin, but he was fun. “Where do I sign up?”

With a half laugh, Phillip tossed the gum back on the desk. “You get the picture. These guys were the brains and the blood, and it was their job to get the people excited.”

The brains and the blood, Seth thought. He liked it, and figured he could work it into his report. “Okay, maybe I’ll pick Patrick Henry. He doesn’t look as dorky as some of the other guys.”

“Good. You can access information on him on the computer. When you hit the bibliography of books on him, print it out. The library in Baltimore’s bound to have more of a selection than the one at school.”

“Okay.”

“And your composition for English is ready to turn in tomorrow?”

“Man, you never let up.”

“Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Jeez.” Grumbling all the way, Seth dug into his binder and tugged out the single sheet.

It was titled “A Dog’s Life” and described a typical day through the eyes of Foolish. Phillip felt his lips twitch as the canine narrator told of his delight in chasing rabbits, his irritation with bees, the thrill of hanging out with his good and wise friend Simon.

Christ, the kid was clever, he mused.

As Foolish ended his long, demanding day curled up on his bed, which he generously shared with his boy, Phillip handed the page back. “It’s great. I guess we now know how you come by your storytelling talent naturally.”

Seth’s lashes lowered as he carefully slipped the composition back into place. “Ray was pretty smart and all, being a college professor.”

“He was pretty smart. If he’d known about you, Seth, he’d have done something about it a lot sooner.”

“Yeah, well . . .” Seth gave that Quinn shoulder jerk.

“I’m going to talk to the lawyer tomorrow. We may be able to speed things up a little, with Sybill’s help.”

Seth picked up his pencil to doodle on his blotter. Just shapes, circles, triangles, squares. “Maybe she’ll change her mind.”

“No, she won’t.”

“People do, all the time.” He’d waited for weeks, ready to run if the Quinns had changed theirs. When they hadn’t, he’d started to believe. But he was always ready to run.